Tag Archives: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin

SECDEF Austin Warns of 'Enormous' Effects of Potential Year-Long Continuing Resolution

SECDEF Austin Warns of ‘Enormous’ Effects of Potential Year-Long Continuing Resolution

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III delivers the keynote address during the 2021 Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Dec. 4, 2021. DoD Photo

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is warning Congress that an extended stopgap bill to keep the government funded would have “enormous” effects on the Pentagon. Read More

Pentagon Announces Completion of Global Posture Review

Pentagon Announces Completion of Global Posture Review

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) transits the Philippine Sea to Guam for a port visit on Nov. 11, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Department of Defense on Monday announced the completion of its Global Posture Review, which offers few changes in force lay down and includes a series of previously announced troop movements. Read More

Faller: Building Trust with Partners Key to Future of SOUTHCOM,

Faller: Building Trust with Partners Key to Future of SOUTHCOM,

Retiring Navy Adm. Craig S. Faller holds an American flag that was presented to him, at U.S. Southern Command headquarters, Doral, Fla., on Oct. 29, 2021. DoD Photo

Upholding human rights and the rule of law are key tenets in building professionalism in the armed forces across Southern Command, the outgoing commander said in his farewell speech on Friday. Read More

CENTCOM: Keeping Bagram Airbase Was ‘Untenable’ Under White House Rules for Afghanistan Withdrawal

CENTCOM: Keeping Bagram Airbase Was ‘Untenable’ Under White House Rules for Afghanistan Withdrawal

Gen. Kenneth McKenzie commander, U.S. Central Command, provides testimony at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on ending the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. on Sept. 29, 2021. DoD Photo

The sprawling size of the U.S. airbase at Bagram and its isolation from Kabul meant that keeping it under American control was “untenable under the situation” once President Joe Biden ordered all U.S. forces out of Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command’s top officer told a House panel Wednesday. Read More

Milley: Staying in Afghanistan Past Deadline Would Have Put U.S. Troops, Afghans in Danger

Milley: Staying in Afghanistan Past Deadline Would Have Put U.S. Troops, Afghans in Danger

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander, United States Central Command appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the conclusion of military operations in Afghanistan and plans for future counterterrorism operations on Sept. 28, 2021. DoD Photo

If Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden had chosen to ignore the dates set for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, it would have meant moving elements of the XVIII Airborne Corps into the land-locked country to hold Bagram Air Base and Kabul, and renewed fighting that would have endangered American forces, citizens and Afghans, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Congress today. Read More

VP Harris Stresses U.S. Commitment to Indo-Pacific During Regional Tour, Calls Out Chinese Aggression

VP Harris Stresses U.S. Commitment to Indo-Pacific During Regional Tour, Calls Out Chinese Aggression

Vice President Kamala Harris visits the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Tulsa (LCS 16), Aug. 23, 2021. US Navy Photo

KUALA LUMPUR – The United States will stand with its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region against any threats to the rules-based order, Vice President Kamala Harris said during a swing through the region this week. Read More

Limited Coordination Between U.S., NATO Allies in Getting Afghanistan Evacuees to Airport

Limited Coordination Between U.S., NATO Allies in Getting Afghanistan Evacuees to Airport

Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) search luggage during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug. 18, 2021. US Marine Corps Photo

Troops from NATO member states, including the U.S., U.K. and France, are all working in Kabul to remove citizens and Afghans eligible for resettlement out of the country. But there isn’t a coordinated effort between the allies to communicate with the Taliban or ensure people get to the Hamid Karzai International Airport safely, Pentagon officials acknowledged on Thursday. Read More